Bonds & Stocks
Treasuries fell after a surge that put global bonds on the verge of erasing their 2023 losses, with traders weighing mixed readings on retail sales and inflation for clues on the Federal Reserve’s next steps. Two-year yields, which are more sensitive to imminent policy moves, climbed five basis points to about 4.9%. Stocks edged higher, following a rally that was turbocharged by short covering and bets the Fed’s tightening cycle is over.
Economy
Prices paid to US producers unexpectedly declined in October by the most since April 2020, adding to evidence of abating inflationary pressures across the economy. The producer price index for final demand decreased 0.5% from a month earlier, a sharp slowdown that’s largely reflective of a decline in gasoline prices. Excluding food and energy, the so-called core PPI was unchanged, government data showed. From a year ago, the overall measure was up 1.3%, while the core gauge posted the smallest annual increase since the start of 2021.
World
China’s consumer spending and industrial activity expanded faster than expected in October, but a worsening property market fueled expectations the government will have to roll out more stimulus. Retail sales climbed 7.6% in October from a year earlier, the National Bureau of Statistics said Wednesday, a better-than-forecast result aided in part by comparisons with a contraction during the same month in 2022. October also captured the week-long Golden Week holiday period, during which Chinese travel surged, but tourist spending disappointed.